Thieves target power grid, strip 60 utility poles, take transformer, NC cops say

The power grid in eastern North Carolina is being targeted by thieves who are risking their lives to strip utility poles and haul away transformers, investigators say.

Craven County had 60 utility poles stripped of wiring in late October, and on Nov. 13, neighboring Lenoir County saw a power transformer mysteriously vanish in the night.

There is no indication the thefts are related, other than the culprit’s shared desire for easy money, investigators say.

Two arrests were made Nov. 13 in the Craven County thefts, with a Havelock couple facing “four felony counts of injuring utility wires/fixtures, felony larceny, felony obtaining property by false pretense, and felony conspiracy,” the Craven County Sheriff’s Office said in a Nov. 18 news release. Each has a bond of $350,000, officials said.

The average height of utility poles is 30 to 60 feet, indicating the theft was a feat.

Lenoir County has yet to identify suspects in the transformer theft.

It happened around 1:30 a.m. on Thursday, Nov. 13, along a highway in the Deep Run area of the county, and the only clue is a blurry photo of the getaway car, officials said.

A photo shared by the sheriff’s office shows it was a pole mounted transformer, which can weigh hundreds of pounds, experts say.

Copper is a key need for delivering electricity and copper wire thefts have increased in recent years due to a “significant rise in the price,” experts say.

Craven County is about a 115-mile drive southeast from Raleigh.

This story was originally published November 19, 2025 at 6:38 AM with the headline "Thieves target power grid, strip 60 utility poles, take transformer, NC cops say."